读者文摘:关于盐的13个有趣知识(1)（在线收听）

One. Salt was so valuable in ancient Rome that soldiers were sometimes paid with it.

在古罗马，盐非常珍贵，士兵有时候靠它来赚钱。

In fact, the word salary comes from the Latin word sal, for salt.

实际上，salary这个词来自拉丁语sal，意思是盐。

When a soldier was doing a lousy job, his paycheck might be cut, which is how we got the expression "not worth his salt."

当一个士兵的工作做的很糟糕的时候，他的工资可能会减少，这就是“不称职”这个表达的来源。

Two. Salt can still be valuable today. Amethyst Bamboo 9x salt, which rings up at $398 a pound, may be the most expensive in the world.

今天盐仍然很有价值。紫水晶竹9x盐，每磅398美元，它可能是世界上最贵的。

This pricey stuff takes a lot of time to produce—it's roasted nine times inside a bamboo pole at temperatures exceeding 1,400 degrees F.

这种昂贵的东西需要很长时间生产-它要在超过1400华氏度的高温下，在竹枝里烤九次。

One store says the resulting delicacy "smells like something dragons use to season their victims before eating them."

一家商店称，美味的紫水晶竹9x盐“就像是龙在食用猎物之前的调味料”。

Three. Historically, salt's value came from its ability to preserve food.

在历史上，盐的价值来自于它储存食物的能力。

Venice, Italy, may be famous for its canals now, but salt imports fueled its rise as an influential trade power by the end of the 13th century.

今日的意大利威尼斯可能以它的运河著称，但是在13世纪末，是盐进口促使意大利发展成为一个重要的贸易大国。

Four. Salt also took on a great deal of symbolic value. There's a reason it is mentioned so many times in the Bible ("salt of the earth," "a pillar of salt," "a covenant of salt").

盐也有很大的象征价值。盐在圣经中多次被提到是有原因的（“地球之盐”，“一根盐柱”，“不可背弃的盐约”）。

Its preservative properties made it an apt metaphor for permanence and conviction.

它的防腐特性使它成为永久和信念的恰当隐喻。

Five. Most people know about the health risks associated with sodium, but reducing your intake isn't always easy.

很多人都知道跟钠有关的健康风险，但是减少摄入并不总是容易的事情。

More than 75 percent of the sodium Americans eat comes from processed foods; bread, cured meats, and canned soup top the list.

美国人摄入的超过75%的钠来自加工食品；面包、腌肉和汤品罐头位居榜首。

Even foods that don't taste salty may contain it. Instant oatmeal with maple and brown sugar, for instance, contains 170 milligrams of sodium per ounce—a little more than a small bag of potato chips.

甚至，吃起来不咸的食物也可能含有它。例如，含枫糖和红糖的速溶燕麦片每磅含有170毫克的钠——比一小袋薯片多一点。

Six. Even French fries aren't necessarily the biggest culprit.

甚至，炸薯条也不一定是罪魁祸首。

A 2012 study that examined sodium levels of fast-food menu items from different countries found that pizza and burgers contained more sodium than french fries, because they come in larger serving sizes.

2012年的一项研究检测了不同国家的快餐菜单食品的钠的水平，研究发现，比萨和汉堡比薯条含有更多的钠，因为它们的分量更大。